They emerged onto a wide, open field, bereft of the usual tents and bustle of the camp. Instead, it was a rigorous training ground where a dozen men, drenched in sweat, honed their combat skills under the morning sun.
At the behest of Peter, a lithe and energetic young man Claude remembered from earlier, the group executed their parries, thrusts, and footwork with mechanical precision.
Again and again.
The group seemingly did not know the meaning of rest as they tirelessly continued in their endeavour.
For Claude, witnessing such relentless training was a stark contrast to his own world, where such preparations were rare and reserved for dire conflicts.
Only then would people be sent over to train the men in the village to go off and fight. From what Claude heard, the last time this happened was several decades ago.
Yet, this arduous training before him only served to make him feel even more weary of this world.
To him, the relentless training underscored a chilling truth: the world was fraught with danger, so perilous in fact that even a small settlement required an armed guard for protection.
His previous wariness stemmed from mere hearsay and theories, for the first time, he had seen the actual consequences of the inherent danger of this world.
Whilst undergoing training, Peter noticed the two people watching from a distance.
Peter, pausing mid-drill, wiped his brow and called out with a grin, "Miss Agnes, Lord Emissary!"
Prompted by his greeting, the weary trainees halted and turned, hopeful eyes on Agnes.
"Miss Agnes, do you have more of the medicine?" A trainee called out eagerly, hope tinging his voice.
Agnes smiled, setting down the large bowl of the mixture on the ground. "Yes, my dears, there's plenty. But remember, the strength to continue comes from your faith as much as from any medicine. Keep your spirits high."
Claude helped distribute the concoction among several bowls.
Witnessing the concoction's swift effects piqued Claude's curiosity. Its potency made him realize why these warriors trained so vigorously without fear of injuring themselves.
He watched as sighs of relief rippled through the weary men, their tense muscles loosening, faces softening into expressions of gratitude and respite.
Nevertheless, Claude had never seen such effective medicine in his life and neither had Raymond ever mentioned such a thing.
'Is this unique to this world...?' Claude pondered as he soon realised something else.
This world regardless of its increasingly dangerous nature, seemed to possess a myriad of things that could be of use to Claude.
His eyes glowed slightly as his thoughts flowed, 'Don't tell me... Asteria had this in mind too...?'
It soon clicked into Claude's mind how ridiculous this subspace network was. Not only does it bestow humanity a chance at preserving itself.
It allows humanity to cross into various worlds, absorbing the knowledge of each one to empower themselves.
Whilst Claude was lost in his thoughts, the trainees had finished the medicine and Agnes motioned to Claude, snapping him out of his musings, signalling it was time to leave.
On their way out of the training grounds, they received the heartfelt gratitude of the trainees.
However, they still had other things to do, and their presence here was no longer needed there. Together, the duo left the grounds, retracing their steps through the village,
During their walk, Claude turned to Agnes with a curious tilt of his head, asking, "Is Peter the one in charge of the village guard?"
A proud smile brightened Agnes' face as she responded. "Of course, he is. Though young, Peter is truly a hardworking lad and is exceptionally gifted. At only 22, he outmatches everyone else in the village in combat. A true genius that boy is..."
Halfway, Agnes stopped abruptly and spoke to Claude, "Speaking of genius," With a mysterious glint in her eyes she continued. "There's something here in the village that might catch your interest," She said, leading him towards the outskirts of the settlement.
As they trod towards the outer edges of the settlement, the air grew cooler, the scent of moss and old stone filling their nostrils.
Soon, they came across a dilapidated shrine. It was an ancient stone structure, partially overrun with ivy, and at its centre was a statue of a stern-faced man, his visage commanding even in erosion.
They approached the ancient shrine, and as they drew closer, Claude caught sight of the statue. His gaze fixed on the stern-faced figure, a flicker of shock crossing his face.
'Ardeshir...?'
To Claude, this statue seemed to be eerily reminiscent of the man named Ardeshir whom Claude had seen in that dream he had after waking up in the field.
But that was impossible, wasn't it?
'It can't be. This is another world. This should just be a coincidence...' He tried to convince himself.
He truly didn't wish to entertain the thought of a descendent of Kourosh travelling to this world, as that would make this world even more complicated than it already seems.
"This." Agnes gestured to the statue, awe flickering across her eyes. "Is the founding king of the kingdom that served as humanity's final bastion of hope."
"His name... Ardeshir"
Agnes's words struck Claude like a thunderclap, shattering his naive attempts to dismiss the familiarity as mere coincidence.
As she recounted Ardeshir's legacy, Claude's thoughts spiralled, and soon only questions were left floating in his head.
How? How did he get here?
Why did he come here?
What was his purpose?
Was this something Asteria told him to do?
Unaware of Claude's turmoil, Agnes continued. "We know little of his origin. He emerged from seemingly nowhere. His appearance, behaviour and speech were so very different from everyone else."
"Yet, following his appearance, he brought together disparate tribes and introduced a new language, writing system and various technologies. Propelling the advancement of mankind decades ahead of its time."
"He transformed us from prey into hunters of the bloodborne. His intelligence and achievements made many believe he was no mere man. Thus, a title had been bestowed on him. Solhart's chosen. Though, for some reason, legend says he wasn't too fond of the title."
"Nevertheless, his reign was short-lived," Agnes sighed. "We don't know what exactly happened, but his fall was sudden, leaving the kingdom in chaos as those left behind broke it into a frenzy to fight for power."
Claude was listening to this brand-new information as he tried to answer some of the questions that he had left sitting in the back of his head.
'So these bloodborne should refer to the blood-sucking fiends Karl had mentioned before.' Claude thought to himself.
Yet, he had one more thing he wanted to know.
"When did this all happen?" Claude turned to Agnes before asking, not afraid of exposing his ignorance due to his current identity.
Agnes paused for a second, as he pondered for a bit. "Legends seem to say that Ardeshir fell a few hundred years ago... Though the exact date is unknown. My best guess is probably around 300 years ago."
Claude closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself time to absorb the staggering revelation he had just encountered.
According to common sense, Ardeshir should have existed thousands of years before Claude was even born in his world.
Afterall, the empire of Francia itself had a history of over 4000 years.
Yet, here Ardeshir lived merely 300 years prior.
"Time... The flow here must be different," Claude mused.
Under normal circumstances, such a realization might trigger panic in a person.
After all the implications of it meant the possibility of losing all of one's family and friends to the cold embrace of death whilst they maintained their youth.
A minute for them, an eternity for others.
Yet, Claude felt no panic.
An unsettling calm settled over him as he thought of his current situation, 'Back there, nothing awaits me... Even if a hundred years have passed when I return, there would be no one to notice my absence. No one to care...'
Claude lost in his sombre reflections on the peculiar flow of time in this world, was suddenly jolted back to the present by a distant uproar—cheers and laughter piercing the solemnity of his thoughts.
Agnes looked equally puzzled. "Something's happened," she mused aloud. "Let's head back, Claude." She said to Claude, who nodded in return, he too wanted to know what was causing such a racket.